The present teachings relate to a printhead maintenance station for a piezoelectric microdeposition (PMD) apparatus.
PMD processes are used to deposit droplets of fluid manufacturing materials on substrates without contamination of the substrates or the fluid manufacturing materials. Accordingly, PMD processes are particularly useful in clean room environments where contamination is to be avoided such as, for example, when manufacturing polymer light-emitting diode (PLED) display devices, printed circuit boards (PCBs), or liquid crystal displays (LCDs).
PMD methods and systems generally incorporate the use of a PMD tool, which includes a head to deposit fluid manufacturing materials on a substrate and a nozzle assembly including multiple independent nozzles. The PMD head is coupled with a computer numerically controlled system for patterning, i.e., precisely depositing droplets of the fluid manufacturing material onto predetermined locations of the substrate and for individually controlling each of the nozzles. In general, the PMD head may contain multiple printhead arrays and is configured to provide a high degree of precision and accuracy when used in combination with the various techniques and methods for forming microstructures on substrates.
Due to extremely high droplet deposition, positional accuracy typically required in PMD applications, and the use of ink jet fluids not typically used in graphics printers, maintenance methods previously employed in other fields of ink jet printing are often unsatisfactory for avoiding nozzle failure in PMD applications. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved device for maintaining the condition of the PMD head.